1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a horticultural therapy apparatus. More particularly, the invention is directed toward an elevated vessel for use by persons with limited mobility and by persons in wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gardening is recognized as beneficial occupational therapy for persons dealing with physical injuries or with impaired or limited mobility, as from a stroke, a neurodegenerative disease, damage to the spinal cord, or other conditions. However, traditional gardening techniques often involve procedures that present obstacles for persons with impaired or limited mobility. In particular, gardening procedures that involve the gardener operating at ground level present special difficulties for persons occupying wheelchairs. Accordingly, a need is felt for a horticultural therapy apparatus that presents a raised and stable working surface that can be easily accessed by a person in a wheelchair or by a person otherwise operating with impaired or limited mobility.
Planters are well known in the agricultural and gardening fields. Some planters known in the prior are, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,588 issued to Norman, include a central trough member supported by upstanding wall members. Plants are grown in a medium (usually soil) in the trough. By elevating the plants and media above the ground, the planter protects the plants from insects and ground animals, as well as from foot traffic and moderate flooding. Practitioners in the art have also found that use of a planter allows the practitioner more effectively and easily to control the composition and ingredients of the medium in which the plants are grown.
Planters offer particular advantages to those practitioners who occupy wheelchairs. If the planter is of proper elevation and is wheelchair-accessible, then the planter allows a practitioner who occupies a wheelchair to tend to the plants without having to bend or stoop. However, traditional planters are not designed for easy use by handicapped persons, particularly persons occupying wheelchairs. Thus, a need is felt for a planter that is designed to be wheelchair-accessible.
The incorporation of various structures onto the planter can further assist the wheelchair-bound practitioner and allow the practitioner more effectively and easily to control the conditions under which the plants grow and develop. For example, irrigation structures can supply the plants in the planter with controlled amounts of water at regular intervals; in this way an irrigation structure relieves the practitioner of the burden of manually watering the plants and of the risk of depending upon local weather conditions for irregular rain. Special lighting structures (hereinafter “grow lights”) can illuminate the plants, supplying the light necessary for photosynthesis. Heaters can help maintain the ambient temperature within the planter, insulating the plants from cold weather.
Adding some or all of these structures to a planter increases the degree of control that the practitioner exercises over the conditions under which the plants grow. Adding some or all of these structures is also of benefit to a wheelchair-bound practitioner, as the wheelchair-bound practitioner may find it more difficult to perform personally some of the tasks (such as watering plants) accomplished by these structures. However, ordinarily the addition of irrigating, illuminating, or heating structures requires specialized modification of the planter. In other words, these structures are standard components of most planters, and most planters are not designed with a view to incorporating these structures. Additionally, the specialized modification of a planter to incorporate these structures can be expensive.
Other devices have been developed to address these and other problems. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
Patent NumberInventor(s)Date473,631LoepereApr. 26, 1892602,649WightApr. 19, 1898784,756PultMar. 14, 19051,222,648MarksApr. 17, 19171,405,568ConklinFeb. 7, 19221,508,028RobinsonSep. 9, 19241,833,676GloeklerNov. 24, 19311,874,207PurplawAug. 30, 19322,545,717VoigtMar. 20, 19514,174,589DaharshNov. 20, 19794,739,580Simmons et al.Apr. 26, 19884,825,588NormanMay 2, 19894,850,134SnekkenesJul. 25, 19895,611,172Dugan et al.Mar. 18, 19975,664,367HuangSep. 9, 19975,852,895SinananDec. 29, 19986,138,403Bartlett et al.Oct. 31, 20006,243,985MillerJun. 12, 20016,401,387Diloreto et al.Jun. 11, 20027,036,270Mekler et al.May 2, 2006Des. 428,828GutierrezAug. 1, 2000GB 2,137,464Mekler et al.Oct. 10, 1984GB 2,243,524MoffetNov. 6, 1991
Of these patents, the '568 patent issued to Conklin describes a trough-shaped box. This trough-shaped box is composed of a piece of sheet metal bent at its ends partly around two circular wooden discs, which form the end walls of the trough. The box is secured to the wooden discs by screws or other suitable fasteners.
The '588 patent issued to Norman describes an apparatus and method of manufacture wherein a corrugated fiberglass trough is sealed between matching end walls, said walls consisting of stand and plug members which have sealing surfaces which match the contour of the fiberglass trough.
The '367 patent issued to Huang discloses an artistic flower planting case hangable on a building terrace having a flower planting case and a hanging plate. The hanging plate is channel shaped and placed on an upper surface of a terrace wall of a building. The flower planting case is an elongated case with an upper open side, forming an interior for soil and flowers. The case is assembled with the hanging plate by bolts screwing into a plurality of threaded holes in a rear side of the flower planting case and a front side of the hanging plate.
The '895 patent issued to Sinanan describes a planter assembly that includes a planter box and a support structure for the planter box. The support structure is formed by an elevating post, a base beneath the post and a planter box support atop the post. The post is releasably secured within the support structure which enables height adjustment trimming and then refitting of the post with the support structure.
The '828 design patent issued to Gutierrez describes a modular planter.
The '985 patent issued to Miller describes an automatic watering system. The device of the 985 patent includes a variety of interconnecting parts to form one or more separate elongate trays which are arrange in any fashion but generally one above the next. Each linear or radial tray section is adapted for supporting one or more potted plants. Trays are interconnected by flexible tubes so that when water is introduced into an upper tray it flows downwardly into subsequent lower trays. Trays are inexpensively fabricated by an extrusion process and when attached at both ends to end sections, form a finished shelf into which water may be introduced so as to hydrate and feed the plants by root absorption. The end sections are held in place by a snap on cover which also engages a screen to provide an effective watering tray and a clog free system.